Armed Forces Bill

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to use the proposed Armed Forces Bill to reduce the competence of commanding officers to deal with alleged offences; and, if so, in what way; and
	Whether they intend to use the proposed Armed Forces Bill to remove from commanding officers the power to dismiss charges on matters within their competence; and
	Whether they intend to use the proposed Armed Forces Bill to confer on service prosecuting authorities the power to re-open a case dismissed by a commanding officer.

Lord Drayson: The Bill will provide for the offences which Army and Royal Air Force commanding officers may deal with summarily to be slightly extended, while there will be a reduction in the theoretically very wide summary jurisdiction of Royal Navy commanding officers. Our aim has been to harmonise the list of offences to include those which Royal Navy commanding officers can appropriately, and do in fact, deal with summarily at present. The Armed Forces Bill will also remove the power of commanding officers to dismiss a charge for any offence, without any form of hearing. Commanding officers will instead be able to discontinue, without a hearing, proceedings in any case which they can deal with summarily; unlike the present power of dismissal, this will not prevent further proceedings being brought within the service system.

Armed Forces: Service Law

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What will be the legal status of The Manual of Military Law published by the Ministry of Defence, following the enactment of the proposed Armed Forces Bill.

Lord Drayson: In common with the present manuals of naval, military and air force law, the new manual of service law will be a reference document with no legal status.

Armed Forces: Special Investigations Branch

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which units of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force perform for those services the role which the special investigations branch of the Royal Corps of Military Police performs for the Army.

Lord Drayson: Each service has its own special investigations branch.

Biofuels: Cooking Oil

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much used cooking oil has been blended into other fuel for use in diesel vehicles in each of the past five years.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: HM Revenue and Customs publishes information on biodiesel used for transport fuels in their monthly Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin. Unfortunately, it is not possible to disaggregate cooking oil from other similar oils used as biodiesels.

Biofuels: Cooking Oil

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the estimated carbon emission savings from blending cooking oil with other fuels in each of the past five years; and
	Whether they have estimated the total savings of carbon emissions from (a) biofuels produced from crops grown for that purpose; and (b) biofuels produced from waste vegetable oil.

Lord Bach: The amount of carbon saved by the use of biofuels depends on: the feedstock; the way it has been processed; how that processor is powered; and the mode and mileage travelled by the feedstock and the biofuel before it is consumed. The following table gives average figures for various feedstocks.
	
		
			 Feedstock Processing Technique Average reduction incarbon emissionscompared to fossilfuel (percentage) 
			 Sugar Cane Sugar Distillation 89 
			 Sugar Beet Sugar Distillation 40 
			 Wheat Starch Distillation 40 
			 Rapeseed Oil Esterification 57 
			 Waste Vegetable Oil Esterification 87 
		
	
	Total biodiesel sales in the UK since 2000 are given in the table below but information is not collected on the feedstock used to produce the fuel. The Government intend to develop an assurance scheme to ensure that the best biofuels are used. This will require companies to report on the level of carbon savings achieved and on the sustainability of their supplies.
	
		
			 Calendar year Total biodiesel sales (million litres) 
			 2001 0 
			 2002 3 
			 2003 19 
			 2004 21 
			 2005 to date 26 (Provisional figures)

British Passports

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the Passport Service has no mechanism for dealing with applications from British citizens who, having lived abroad for a number of years, need to apply for replacement of a lost or stolen passport in the United Kingdom, but have access to no person who is qualified to countersign the application.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: A person is qualified to countersign a passport application if he or she is a professional person or person of standing in the community who holds a current British or Irish passport, is not related to or in a relationship with the applicant and has known the applicant for two years or more. A countersignature is needed for first passport applications and applications to replace lost or stolen passports. When a British citizen who has recently arrived in the UK after living abroad applies to replace a lost or stolen passport, and in other exceptional circumstances, the UK Passport Service will consider an application supported by a countersignatory who has known the applicant for less than two years but otherwise meets the criteria.

Childcare

Lord Brookman: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the impact of increased childcare provision for three and four year-olds in schools on private and voluntary sector day nurseries.

Lord Adonis: The Government value the contribution made by the thousands of private voluntary and independent (PVI) providers in delivering high quality, flexible early education and childcare. A thriving PVI sector is vital to the Government's long-term aims to deliver flexible, integrated services for children and families, promoting choice and diversity.
	PVI sector providers will continue to play a significant part in delivering the commitments set out in the Government's 10-year childcare strategy progressively to increase and deliver more flexibly the existing free entitlement for three and four year-olds.
	As a first step, from April 2006, the minimum free entitlement will be increased to 38 weeks in all settings. This will secure a level playing field between maintained and PVI providers, ensuring, for the first time, that all children receive the same entitlement regardless of the setting their parents chose. Additional funding is being made available to all local authorities to ensure that PVI providers are funded to deliver the increased offer. This levelling of the playing field should act to decrease any advantages it may be felt that schools hold over other providers.

Citizens for Europe Programme

Lord Willoughby de Broke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the purpose of the Citizens for Europe Programme; when it was established and under what authority; who are the members of its council; what is its budget; and how often it meets.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Citizens for Europe Programme is a proposed EU funding programme which would run from 2007 to 2013. It will replace the current programme to promote active European citizenship (civic participation) which began in 2004. The programme is still being negotiated by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament and therefore its content has not yet been agreed. However, the proposed overarching objectives of the programme are to give citizens the opportunity to interact; to develop a sense of European identity based on common values; and to celebrate the diversity of our cultures. Citizens will be targeted both directly and via civil society organisations. The programme will be established under Articles 151 and 308 of the EC treaty. The Commission has proposed a budget of €235 million (£159 million). However, a decision on the programme's actual budget will not be made until an agreement has been reached on the EU budget as a whole for the next financial perspective.
	If adopted, the programme would not have a council but it would probably have a management committee. The Commission proposes that such a committee should decide implementation arrangements for the programme. These might include the selection procedures and criteria for each call for proposals; and procedures for monitoring and evaluating the programme.

Civil Servants: Publication of Memoirs

Baroness Wilcox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they plan to introduce provisions into the draft Civil Service Bill to place restrictions on the publishing of memoirs by civil servants.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The rules on the publication of memoirs by civil servants are set out in Civil Service codes of conduct. The Government's position on what might be covered by a Civil Service Bill remains as set out in their proposals for consultation [Cm6373].

Counter-terrorism

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What lessons they have learnt from the measures taken in the United States by the Agricultural Bioterrorism Act 2002; and whether they are contemplating taking any of the powers and precautions provided by that Act.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 contains measures to improve the security of dangerous substances that may be targeted or used by terrorists. Schedule 5 to that Act lists those pathogens and toxins that potentially pose the greatest risk to human life if misused by terrorists. These substances are subject to the controls set out in the Act. The provisions set out in Part 7 of the ATCS Act place an obligation on managers of laboratories and other premises holding stocks of specified disease causing pathogens and toxins to notify their holdings and to comply with any reasonable security requirements which the police may impose. The provisions within counter-terrorism legislation are kept under constant review.

Dentistry: Children's Tooth Decay

Baroness Harris of Richmond: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the level of tooth loss through dental decay among children in (a) north and east Yorkshire and the Humber; and (b) each primary care trust area within the region; and how do these figures compare with national averages.

Lord Warner: A survey in 2003–04 showed that in the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area the average number of primary or deciduous teeth extracted due to decay for five year-olds was 0.17. The figures for each primary care trust (PCT) are as follows.
	
		
			  
			 Craven, Harrogate and Rural 0.13 
			 East Yorkshire 0.18 
			 Eastern Hull 0.23 
			 Hambleton and Richmondshire 0.13 
			 North-east Lincolnshire 0.31 
			 North Lincolnshire 0.16 
			 Scarborough, Whitby andRyedale 0.13 
			 Selby and York 0.11 
			 West Hull 0.16 
			 Yorkshire Wolds and Coast 0.21 
		
	
	The figure for England during the same period was 0.20.
	A survey in the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA area for 14 year-olds showed that the average number of permanent or second teeth extracted due to decay was 0.10. The figures for each PCT are as follows.
	
		
			  
			 Craven, Harrogate and Rural 0.04 
			 East Yorkshire 0.10 
			 Eastern Hull 0.13 
			 Hambleton and Richmondshire 0.10 
			 North East Lincolnshire 0.10 
			 North Lincolnshire 0.09 
			 Scarborough, Whitby andRyedale 0.05 
			 Selby and York 0.11 
			 West Hull 0.16 
			 Yorkshire Wolds and Coast 0.09 
		
	
	The figure for England during the same period was 0.09.

Information Security: Department for Constitutional Affairs

Lord Harris of Haringey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which Minister has responsibility for information security in the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: My right honourable friend Harriet Harman is the Minister responsible for information security in the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

European Digital Library

Lord Willoughby de Broke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Statement by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 9 November (WS 57-8), what will be the purpose of the proposed European digital library; and which body will be responsible for authorising and monitoring its content.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The purpose of the European digital library (EDL) will be to bring together extensive cultural resources and make them available online in a form that is easy to find and interesting to use: it will encourage increased use of digital content at a European level.
	The European Commission published a communication on this subject on 30 September 2005 and has launched a consultation which ends on 20 January 2006. The Commission proposes a high-level steering group advise the EDL; this will involve national librarians, information technology companies and publishers.

Fire Engines

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have carried out any recent investigations into the most visible colour for fire engines; and, if so, what were the results.

Baroness Andrews: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of any recent investigations carried out by Government into the most visible colour for fire engines.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Baroness Noakes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any plans to designate any bodies under Section 5 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and
	Whether bodies which are neither listed in Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 nor defined under Section 6 of that Act, but which carry out statutory functions delegated to them, should be subject to the information disclosure requirements of the Act.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) applies to those bodies which are public authorities for purposes of the Act. The scope of the power in Section 5 of the Act enables the designation as a public authority of bodies that appear to the Secretary of State to be exercising functions of a public nature and those are providing, under contract with a public authority, services whose provision is a function of that authority.
	We are currently building up evidence of how freedom of information has impacted on the bodies that meet in the existing criteria as specified in Sections 4 and 6 of the Act. We feel that it is important to gain such evidence before considering how Section 5 might be used. We have therefore not identified any bodies for designation under Section 5.

Freelance Workers: Musicians and Singers

Lord Bowness: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations have been made by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to HM Treasury regarding the decision to treat freelance musicians and singers as employees for national insurance purposes.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England are in active discussions with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Officials are working together to find the most practicable solution.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Drayson on 3 November (WA 45) concerning the number and amount of payments made so far in respect of illnesses contracted by British troops involved in the 2003 Gulf conflict, how they have computed the cost of providing the information requested in the Question tabled by the Lord Morris of Manchester on 21 July.

Lord Drayson: In order to provide the information requested by the noble Lord, over 250 cases would need individual examining in order to establish the number and amount of payments made so far in respect of illnesses contracted by troops involved in the 2003 Gulf conflict.
	The figures used in the Written Answer on 3 November (WA 45) are based on the broad assumption that each case would involve at least 15 minutes of Veterans Agency staff time at administrative officer level and applying the accepted rate of salary the overall cost of providing such information would be in excess of the allowable cost. In addition, costs would be incurred in retrieving and transporting the files.

Northern Ireland Compensation Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 15 November (WA 138–9) concerning compensation in Northern Ireland, for each year since 1998, who received compensation and costs from the Claim Public Liability Group.

Lord Drayson: I am withholding the information requested because it relates to personal information relating to third parties. The unwarranted disclosure to a third party of personal information about any person (including a deceased person) or any other disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
	The Ministry of Defence's claims annual report 2004–05, which sets out a range of overall compensation payments by different category, is available in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Deterrence

Baroness Tonge: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the estimated cost of replacing the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent.

Lord Drayson: Decisions on any replacement for the Trident system have not yet been taken. Such decisions are likely to be necessary in the current Parliament, although they are still some way off. Initial preparatory work is being undertaken by officials on possible options for the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent. However, Ministers have not yet begun to consider the position on this issue in any detail. It is therefore premature to speculate on the range of options that might be available and their potential costs.

Overcrowding

Lord Dubs: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What estimate they have made of the number of overcrowded households in each local authority in London.

Baroness Andrews: I refer the noble Lord to the report named Overcrowding in England, the Sub-Regional picture: Statistics which can be accessed at the following link www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1152920. Scroll down this page to the link to "Table 1: overcrowding by sub-regional area". Estimates (for 2002) of the number of overcrowded households in each local authority are given in column H of this table.

Overcrowding

Lord Dubs: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the impact of overcrowded housing conditions on the health and education of young children.

Baroness Andrews: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published, in May 2004, a review by De Montfort University of the evidence and literature relating to the impact of overcrowded housing on health and education. The researchers identified evidence of a small relationship between overcrowding and aspects of the physical health of both children and adults, and limited evidence of an effect on childhood development, growth and education. The review, The Impact of Overcrowding on Health and Education: A Review of Evidence and Literature (ISBN 18 5112 7119), was placed in the Library of the House.

Overcrowding

Lord Dubs: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect to publish the consultation paper on the new definition of statutory overcrowding in housing.

Baroness Andrews: The Government remain committed to publishing a consultation paper on the future of the statutory overcrowding standards, and will do so as soon as possible.

Powers of Entry

Lord Selsdon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In what circumstances officials of the Department for Education and Skills and of public bodies answerable to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills can search and enter the homes or business premises of United Kingdom citizens; and, in each case, what is the statutory authority for that power.

Lord Adonis: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my noble friend the Minister for State at the Home Office on 23 November (Official Report, col. WA 218).

Prisoners of War: Data Release

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will authorise the publication of all documents contained in the official records relating to the interrogation of German prisoners of war between 1940 and 1948 referred to in the Guardian of 12 November; and, if not, what is the justification for the non-disclosure of these documents.

Lord Drayson: A considerable number of files relating to the activities of the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre (CISDIC) also known as the "London Cage" have been available to researchers at the National Archives (TNA) for a number of years.
	Just one Ministry of Defence file on the subject is currently listed as retained in department, plus a number of sensitive pages extracted from a file already released. Retained files are currently not available for review as they were stored in the MoD's central London file store in an area where asbestos was discovered in the spring of 2003.
	All the records affected have been safeguarded, and have been relocated to a facility on the outskirts of London. A project will commence shortly that will progressively permit access to the information contained on all affected files, after which it will be possible to review the status of the files and consider the possibility of release.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has identified 11 files on the subject which are not already available to the public, eight of them have been cleared for release and will shortly be transferred to TNA.
	Three further Foreign and Commonwealth Office files have also been cleared for release, but only after certain extracts have been made, in accordance with Section 40, "Personal Data", of the Freedom of Information Act, as the information is deemed sensitive personal data under Part 1, Section 2 of the Data Protection Act 1998. The redactions contain photographs of prisoners at the camp and it is possible that some of these individuals may still be alive. These files, once the redactions have been made, will also be transferred to TNA.

Prisons: Juvenile Detention

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many under-18 year-olds were imprisoned in prisons for adults in the United Kingdom in 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2004.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The answers for 2000 and 2004 are in the tables below. It has not been possible to provide figures for 1980, 1990 and 1995.
	
		Under-18s in prison by establishment* and sentence type -- England and Wales 30 June 2000
		
			  Remand Sentenced Grand Total 
			 Altcourse 1 - 1 
			 Belmarsh 1 - 1 
			 Chelmsford 1 - 1 
			 Doncaster 80 3 83 
			 Drake Hall - 1 1 
			 Eastwood Park 1 9 10 
			 Holloway 4 11 15 
			 Moorland - 2 2 
			 New Hall 1 11 12 
			 Norwich 9 - 9 
			 Styal 7 16 23 
			 All 106 53 159 
		
	
	* These prison establishments hold a mixture of juvenile and adults within the same perimeter. However, since the creation of the Youth Justice Board in 2000, male juveniles are held in separate units and do not mix with adults. It is not usual to hold juvenile males at Chelmsford. However, there is provision within the service level agreement between the Prison Service and YJB to hold them outside normal juvenile accommodation for exceptional circumstance—for example, in that nearest to court for court appearances. Prior to April 2000, juveniles were held within the secure estate, but were kept separate from the adult population. Following the creation of the YJB in April 2000, there has been a phased withdrawal of under-18 year-olds from the general secure estate into the dedicated juvenile estate.
	
		Under-18s in prison by establishment** and sentence type -- Scotland 30 June 2000
		
			  Remand Sentenced Grand Total 
			 Barlinnie Prison 22 - 22 
			 Aberdeen Prison 5 1 6 
			 Cornton Vale YoungOffenders Institution 3 4 7 
			 Dumfries YoungOffenders Institution 5 10 15 
			 Edinburgh Prison 12 - 12 
			 Glenochil YoungOffenders Institution - 14 14 
			 Greenock Prison 5 - 5 
			 Inverness Prison 1 1 2 
			 Perth Prison 5 - 5 
			 Polmont YoungOffenders Institution 2 64 66 
			 Kilmarnock Prison 5 1 6 
			 All 65 95 160 
		
	
	** Polmont is the only establishment that holds only young offenders; the other establishments marked as young offenders' institutions are prisons which hold mainly adults but also hold a small number of young offenders in a separate area from the main prison.
	
		Under-18s in prison by establishment*** and sentence type -- Northern Ireland 30 June 2000
		
			  Remand Sentenced Grand Total 
			 Maghaberry 1 - 1 
			 Magilligan - - - 
			 Hydebank Wood 9 14 23 
			 All 10 14 24 
		
	
	*** All prisoners associated with Maghaberry in the tables are actually females. Female prisoners were housed in a separate wing of Maghaberry until July 2004.
	1 Maghaberry Prison: A high-security prison housing adult male long-term sentenced and remand prisoners, both in separated and integrated conditions. Maghaberry also has responsibility for male immigration detainees who are accommodated in its facility at Belfast.
	2 Magilligan Prison: A medium-security prison housing shorter-term sentenced adult male prisoners which also has low security accommodation for selected prisoners.
	3 Hydebank Wood: A young offenders centre and prison for male remands and sentenced young offenders between the ages of 17 and 21 and all female prisoners including young offenders and female immigration detainees.

Radcliffe Rules

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the reply by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 17 November (Official Report, col. 1187), whether the Radcliffe rules should apply to Ministers as well as to the Civil Service and the Diplomatic Service; and, if not, what is the reason for the difference of treatment as regards the publication of memoirs.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Radcliffe rules apply to ministerial memoirs and were established as a result of the report of the Committee of Privy Counsellors on Ministerial Memoirs, chaired by Lord Radcliffe and published in 1976. The Radcliffe principles also apply to civil servants, including special advisers, and members of the Diplomatic Service.

Royal Irish Regiment: Home Service Battalions

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Drayson on 10 November (WA 110), why, in light of the Army's duty of care towards its soldiers, there is no information held on the hours worked by full-time soldiers from each of the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment.

Lord Drayson: Working time regulations apply to the Armed Forces but, in recognition of the overriding need to maintain the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces, exemptions have been granted, including a specific exemption from the requirement to record working hours. Commanders are, however, directed to be aware of the impact of any specific order on the working hours of their subordinates.

Royal Irish Regiment: Uniforms

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they gave guidance to members of the Royal Irish Regiment concerning the wearing of their uniforms at Remembrance Day occasions; and, if so, what was the nature of such guidance; why it was issued; and how the guidance has changed over each of the past five years.

Lord Drayson: Permission to wear uniform for an event, whether an act of remembrance or other formal occasions such as weddings, is granted through the commanding officer of each battalion. The event is "risk assessed" and permission granted or not granted accordingly. This policy has not changed in the past five years.

Smallpox Vaccination: Medical Staff

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 7 September 2004 (WA 137), how many (a) doctors; (b) nurses; (c) ambulance staff; (d) scientists; and (e) others have been vaccinated for smallpox so as to enable them to deal with a terrorist attack; and how many of these have had complications leading to further treatment using vaccine immunoglobulin.

Lord Warner: At 18 November 2005, a total of 516 people in the United Kingdom had been vaccinated against smallpox as part of our contingency planning. Of these 147 were doctors, 164 were nurses, 100 were ambulance staff, 32 were scientists and 73 held other related healthcare occupations.
	None of these had adverse complications that required vaccinia immunoglobulin.

Smallpox Vaccination: Medical Staff

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 18 November 2004 (WA 219), how many doses of undiluted smallpox vaccines are held in the government stockpile; and how many doses of vaccine immunoglobulin are held or due for delivery.

Lord Warner: The United Kingdom Government have sufficient smallpox vaccine to mount a mass vaccination campaign of the whole population.
	More than 10,000 doses of vaccina immunoglobulin have been ordered sufficient to treat those who may develop severe side effects as a result of vaccination in a mass vaccination campaign and also to protect those at increased risk, as a result of contact with cases, who cannot receive the vaccine alone. The order was placed in June for delivery during the next 12 months.

Weights and Measures (Miscellaneous Foods) (Amendment) Order 2005

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, as a result of the provisions of the Weights and Measures (Miscellaneous Foods) (Amendment) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3057), pre-packed food may now be marketed without the weight being clearly marked on each saleable unit.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: No. The order does not affect existing requirements in UK legislation that the nominal quantity be marked on packaged goods.